Brackish Boy Blacksmithing

After taking a brief hiatus, Brackish Boy is back just in time for Oyster Season! I was in the shop over the weekend and have a few Shem Creek Shuckers that are ready to pop open some shells. Let me know if you're interested in picking one up.

This is the hardware that was made for the chest.

Here are some pictures of me with the chest right after hammering the last rivet.

Introducing:
THE PIRATE CHEST

This Colonial style chest that was made completely by hand and is period correct. The wood is Red Oak that was treated with Tung Oil, hand sanded, and finished with beeswax. The straps, hasp (latch), and hinges were all hand forged from steel and treated with Tung Oil, and it's all held together with hand made brass rivets.

A lot of time, effort, blood, and sweat went into making this, but it has taken over as the coolest thing I've ever made. Many thanks to my dad for all of the help he gave me in making this. I don't think I would have finished it on time without his help.

Hey folks, Brackish Boy has been commissioned for an awesome project. Keep an eye out for pictures of it either this weekend or the beginning of next week.

One of the fun things about blacksmithing is the hot steel flakes jumping off the steel and landing on bare skin. Here, Adrian is picking out a flake that landed between his hand and the handle of his hammer.

Here are a few pictures of Adrian making a Shem Creek Shucker

Shem Creek Shucker resting on oyster shells as the sun sets over Shem Creek

Norfolk Southern's passenger train came by the shop. It was almost like a moment taken from a different time. Under the chestnut tree stood the blacksmith, hammer in hand and wearing his leather apron. He paused from his work to watch the passengers pass by as the train was taking them to another land.

"By any other name..."